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Wiring Turnouts

Welcome to the website that coined the phrase "DCC Friendly!"

This is the most
popular section of this web page! If you
are a manufacturer, talk to your DCC customers. Consider making
DCC friendly turnouts - I tell you how below. Modelers, write
your favorite manufacturer. Tell them you would like DCC
friendly turnouts.

These diagrams are examples of DCC friendly turnouts
and what makes them so. In the above diagrams I have also included how
you would power route the frog. See
the appropriate section below for your favorite switch. Power
routing of the frog, and using a light bulb for short circuit protection,
is optional. See section below for more on
power routing.

I show jumpers (called bonds) between the point rails and
closure rails. I personally like turnouts that have the point
rail and closure rail that are one piece and therefore eliminates the
need for bonds. Commercial turnouts that have point rails hinged
to the closure rails, may eventually need a bond if they develop poor
electrical connection at the hinge. You are wise to put the bond
in now as the hinge could become a hot spot should a short occur. However,
if you are using a DCC friendly turnout, the likelihood of a short
developing is much less!

Beginners, you can ignore this: Those
that have some electrical experience will recognize the switch I
have drawn as a SPDT (single pole double throw) center off switch.
You would be right to say that a simple SPDT (without center off)
is more common and would work just as well on a DCC friendly turnout.
Absolutely correct. I drew it as I did to make it easier for beginners
to visualize the SPDT working with the turnout.

Features that Make a Turnout DCC Friendly:

Points:
- points that have no hinge. Each point rail is a single piece with
its closure rail, or
- each point rail is connected
to its closure rail with a rail joiner.

Frog:
- frog is plastic, or
- frog is isolated from the frog and closure rails.

How to Tell if Your Turnout is Not DCC Friendly:

The easiest thing to do is check the left menu bar. It
lists the most popular manufacturers and identifies the turnout as
DCC friendly or not. Also, click on the link and read about your turnout.

If you have a turnout not listed, look for any of the following.
There are two key areas of a turnout that make it not DCC Friendly.
If you have any of the identified features under a single group, you
have a turnout that is partially not DCC Friendly. If you have at least
one feature under both groups, then you have a turnout that is not
DCC Friendly at all. Find a listed manufacturer that is closest to
the turnout you have for information on how to use your turnout.

Non-DCC Friendly Features:

Points:
- single piece of metal connecting point tips together.
- single piece
of metal acting as a hinge.

Frog:
- a metal frog that is not surrounded by four
gaps or insulated joints. (Plastic frogs or partially plastic frog is usually DCC Friendly.)

A turnout that works well that does not look like
the above diagrams is not DCC friendly! It is important
to note that the definition of DCC friendliness is "objective," not "subjective." In
other words, a DCC friendly turnout is not one that just happens
to work well even though it does not look like the above diagrams.
If a turnout does not have the point and stock rail at the same polarity
and a single polarity (controlled by the switch machine) at the frog,
it is not a DCC friendly turnout. A DCC turnout tolerates imperfections
in trackwork and wheels. If you have a turnout that is working well,
you don't have a DCC friendly turnout, you have good trackwork and
wheels.

There are two key components to making a turnout DCC friendly.
1. The point and the adjacent stock rails being at the same polarity.
2. Ideally, all aspects of the frog at the same polarity.

If you have a power routed turnout, the first design
component of a DCC friendly turnout, the point and adjacent stock rails
at the same polarity, can be difficult to implement. In most cases,
you will need to use a circuit board throw bar. This may be beyond your
soldering ability. This will be even harder if turnout is already installed
in a layout and worse if it is in a difficult to work on location.

The second design component, all aspects of the frog at the same
polarity does not require you to be very good with a soldering iron
and can be done to a turnout that is installed in a layout. Pretty
much all you have to do is cut on either side of the frog with a razor
saw and drop a power routing feeder to it. If the frog rails are already
insulated (on an existing layout) or you are planning to do so on a
new layout, then you need only do one cut prior to the frog on the
closure rails.

This is not as "ideal" as a fully DCC friendly turnout.
You will still be susceptible to wheels shorting between the point
and stock
rails. Of course, if you wheels are way out of gauge or your turnouts
are, then you really do have a mechanical problem you should solve
and you should not be looking for a work-around. Assuming your wheels
are in gauge, than an occasional derailment could still cause a short
between these two rails.

While I have not done a serious study of which area of
a turnout shorts the most, it seems that wheels picking points is where
a derailment frequently occurs. The train frequently makes it past this
point. The short occurs when the twisted truck hits the frog.
While it would be nice to know if this is fact, it is not important;
a half DCC friendly turnout is better than not at all. If going the
full DCC friendly route seems like too much trouble, or is too much
trouble, give this idea a thought as you consider your options below.

SUGGESTION #2-20: Use a Car Tail Light Bulb to Reduce System
Shutdown Due to a Short.

One of the diagrams in the top section shows a light
bulb being used for short circuit protection. This is primarily
intended for overzealous, junior (or soon to be demoted!) engineer
who runs into
the turnout without having the points being thrown their way. This
would cause a short on a power routed frog turnout of any kind; DCC
friendly or not. (Insulated frog turnouts do not have this
minor problem and do not need the light bulb. Unfortunately,
many locomotives cannot make it across an unpowered or insulated
frog.)

The light bulb is optional with either of the switch types shown. I
suggest that you use a bulb for the first type of turnout. I
definitely recommend it for the second type. It is more likely
with this second switch type that a person might accidentally get too
close to the power routed portion of the switch and short out the system. See
the track wiring section for more information on using light bulbs.

Let the bulbs dangle so they do not touch anything. You
do not want to risk fire. If a short does occur that is guarded
by a bulb, you will know it. Not only will your train stop, but
your feet will light up, too!

INFORMATION #2-15: What is Power Routing?This section is for those that are unfamiliar with power routing.

Power routing was popular during the days of DC block control. It
was a way for using specially built turnouts to turn the power on or
off to a siding or yard track automatically. For example,
this allowed you to pull a train into a siding and have it stay there
automatically when the turnout was thrown back to the main line. Generally,
no additional switches or wiring was necessary. Given that DC
block operations required control panels and lots of switches, you
can see the appeal; especially where a yard was involved.

On a turnout, you must power route the frog or electrically insulate
it.

Now look at the frog of a turnout at the top of this section. When
a train goes straight through, the left wheels will be in contact with
the frog. When a train takes the diverging route, the right wheels
will be in contact with the frog.

Either the frog supplies the right polarity power to the wheels or
insulate the frog and not supply any power at all. Not supplying
power is the easy way out. Unfortunately, short locomotives that
only have a few wheels picking up power may stall on an insulated frog. Even
long articulateds, like those from Rivarossi, only have two closely
placed wheels on each side. Hence the need to route the correct
polarity power to the frog - power routing!

The switch shown power routing the frog can be implemented in any
one of a number of ways. It can be:

- built into the switch machine like a Tortoise or NJ International.
- built into a ground throw like some made by Caboose Hobbies.
- a micro switch.
- a device a manufacturer intends you to add to their switch machine like those
made by Atlas, Peco, and LGB.

The important thing is that the switch is flipped at
basically the same time the points flip.

RECOMMENDATION #2-16: A DCC Friendly Turnout Solves the
Problem of Shorting When Using Auxiliary Contacts!For those using power routed turnouts with wipers on the points,
you will want to read this.

If you are using ground throws, you can use a switch built into some
of them. Or you can add a micro switch. Burying a
micro switch is more work, but the switch will last practically forever.

For electrically powered turnouts, it is common practice to use contacts
built into the switch machine or add a micro switch if no contacts
are available.

With typical power routed turnouts, the reliability
conscientious modeler is faced with dilemma. If the modeler counts
on the manufacturer supplied point wipers (look at a Shinohara or Peco
for example) to
power route the frog, the modeler knows eventually these will fail
and power routing via contacts or micro switch will be necessary. If
the modeler adds the contacts or micro switch, a short may occur if
the micro switch or contacts switch when one of the point rails is
still in contact with wrong rail. So the modeler is forced to
disable the wipers on the turnout to eliminate the potential of a short.

With DCC friendly turnouts, the point and the stock rail
are at the same potential. So there is no potential of a short. Point
wipers or not, there is simply nothing to worry about!

RECOMMENDATION #2-1: Power Route ONLY the Frog.

One way to make troubleshooting easier, is to limit
how far reaching trouble can be. Power route only the frog. Some turnouts
are designed such that the frog cannot be easily separated from the
frog rails. That is fine. You may power route the little bit leaving
the turnout. Furthermore, if you have blocks where they end by the
fouling point of the turnout, it is logical to include this little
extra bit of rail. This is how my railroad is set up. Power route
no more than this!

Besides limiting how far trouble can get, consider the
5 amp short. Points are not a good way of routing power to the closure
rails. They are even worse for power routing a siding. Five amps at
16 volts is 80 watts of power. How hot is a 75 watt light bulb? Any
resistance in the points or small or cheap switches power routing a
frog, will "take" that 75 watts during a short. Your plastic ties could
melt! Wooden ties could catch fire! Homasote could catch fire!

RECOMMENDATION #2-2: Don't Power Route ANY Sidings. Not
Even Single Stub Sidings.

Some of you want to power route stub sidings. Please
do not! I have heard all the reasons.* Keep things consistent! Run
two feeder wires
to that stub siding just like you are going to do to everywhere else.

*You want to park a locomotive on a siding, right? "I
do not have DCC in all my locomotives" you say. I do not either;
not even close. But, DCC is like CD's. CD's were much more expensive
than
vinyl
albums. "I am
only going to buy CD's of albums I know I am going to like." How long
did that last? Me, too. One way or another, all of us are going to
find a way to afford to put DCC decoders in all of our locomotives
that we want to run. Wire for DCC!

If your budget is tight, look for $17 decoders.
They are out there now!

SUGGESTION #2-3: Use DCC Friendly Turnouts Whenever Possible.

There are two reasons for doing this. Both relate to
short circuits during DCC operation. Shorts can occur when power pick
up by the points
occur on both sides at the same time. Also, when metal wheels roll
through and contact both the stock rail and points at the same time.

A short can cause annoying interruptions to an entire layout. With
13 locomotives running, this was driving us nuts!

The other reason is that a DCC short can have about 75 watts of power
flowing through it. Any points that have some resistance can cause
a light bulb's worth of heat. This might be where the points contact
the stock rails, where the wheels touch rails, or that joiner you use
to connect the points to the closure rails. This light bulb's worth
of heat can melt ties and perhaps cause a fire.

By attaching the stock rails to the point rails, a short
by the wheels or the points to both stock rails is now unlikely.

This alteration also eliminates the joiners between the closure rails
and the points from being a potential hot spot.

As far as I know, all DCC power boosters have short
circuit protection. Unfortunately, as a minimum, they shut down everything
that booster
is powering — commonly the entire railroad! With some systems that
have multiple boosters, system wide shut down is a result.

Some of us solve this problem by placing car brake light bulbs in
series with track feeder sections. The bulb prevents a dead short from
being seen by the booster. Therefore, all other locomotives on that
booster keep running; provided they are on a different track feeder
section. An added bonus is that the light lights up indicating the
location of the short!

While this does prevent a short, it still permits a
fair amount of power to flow — about 25 watts. Needless to say, this
still a good
bit of heat.

The bottom line is to do what is possible to avoid shorts.

A DCC friendly turnout, as a minimum, has the points
wired to the stock rails. As a practical matter, it will also probably
have
the rails leading from the points to the frog wired likewise. Also,
the rails leaving the frog can be wired to the appropriate stock rail.
In short, Atlas is a good example of a DCC friendly turnout. (Note: This
does not mean that the Atlas is the best DCC friendly switch. It
is a good example of a turnout that is not power routed and is wired
in the manner I suggest.)

It takes me about 45 minutes to make a Walther's (Shinohara)
DCC friendly. Follow the directions and make 1 turnout DCC friendly.
Then make them assembly line fashion. Doing it this way, I can
do 4 turnouts in 3 hours.

INFORMATION #2-11: Owners of Existing Layouts.

DCC friendliness is desirable, but not essential. If
you have an existing layout, you need not consider uprooting your turnouts
to
make them DCC friendly. That is a heck of a lot of work! The
risk of damage to the turnouts may be too high.

Depending on the make of turnout, the degree of effort
may vary. Evaluate
the situation based on your ability to do the job successfully
without doing harm to your turnouts. For the moment, do not worry
about DCC friendliness. Definitely forget those that are hard
to reach or in tunnels.

What do you do if you forgo making your turnouts DCC
friendly? Do not
worry, the locusts will not come. There are ways to avoid being
eternally cursed.

The easiest thing, but definitely not the cheapest,
is to use lots of boosters. Each booster would control a small,
rather than a large, area of your railroad. You could go as far
as having a booster for each town. In this case, only one operator
would probably be affected. Your level of frustration will not
be any worse than it is now with your existing railroad and rolling
stock.

A note for the old Digitrax Big Boy owners: Shorts on
the booster attached to the throttle acting as a command station may
shut
down
the whole
railroad. So some people do not use it attached to any track. Or
they use it with track that sees little activity. Definitely
do not make it part of a yard! The Chief does not have this
problem. So
if you have not upgraded to the Chief, this may be your incentive.

You can also put a circuit breaker in series with a turnout.
The circuit breakers, while I think are quite reasonably priced, are
not inexpensive and can add up to be more than going with a lot of boosters.
If you want to use the circuit breakers, feed several turnouts through
a single breaker. This will make the cost more palatable to you
and make this an attractive alternative to the other options.

SUGGESTION #2-14: Drop Feeders from Your Point Rails OR
Solder Wires From Your Closure Rails to Your Point Rails.

Drop a feeder from the point rail to the bus. Alternately,
solder jumpers (called bonds) from each closure rail to the
corresponding point rail. This ensures good electrical contact as the
years go by. This
will also prevent the hinge point from becoming a hot spot should a
short occur. Do this even if you have a turnout with wipers that
bring electrical power to the points from the stock rails. Sooner
or later, this will also become a spot of poor electrical contact or
a hot spot during a short.

Note: Since some switch machines do not have the power to operate
a turnout with bonds on it, dropping a
feeder to the bus from the point is now the preferred approach.This
is a solution everyone can use!

Do this while the switch is new and easy to solder to! It will
be a lot more work later. Retirement is a time to enjoy your
trains, not be fussing over your turnouts!

You really should consider purchasing DCC friendly turnouts. Having
worked on layout that has the non-friendly variety and no bulbs, they
are worth it. Self power routing turnouts are a unending source of
poor electrical contact and shorts. Metal wheels that derail at the
points or touch both the stock rail and a point rail cause a short.
You are probably already aware of this. But the frequent shorts can
drive a DCC layout crazy. How frequent these really are may become
painfully apparent when you go with DCC or any form of command control.

Those people who desire to have their points prototypically
close to the stock rails, will especially want to consider DCC friendly
turnouts.

If you will be using unmodified turnouts, then I suggest
the following:

I suggest you put a switch in series with your power
routing contacts and the turnout's stock rails. Also completely isolate
the turnout with insulated joiners. At least when the turnout's
power routing contacts fail, the turnout can be quickly isolated. Perhaps
your group can resume operation while you repair or replace the turnout. Amazingly,
the mini toggle switches cost more than standard size toggle switches.

There are variations on this switch idea. If you use
a switch machine with slide on connectors of some type, then this connector
can serve as your disconnect switch. You can also put light bulbs
in series with the feeds to the turnout. At least make sure the
electrical section served by turnout is protected by a bulb.

I prefer both of these approaches over connecting your
feeds to a screw terminal strip. If you use the switch or slide on
connectors instead of the bulb, you can quickly flip switches until
you find the troubling turnout. If your use the screw terminal strip,
you are, as they say, screwed. If you soldered all your connections,
well then, I believe that is called a cluster fire truck or something
like that.

HOW TO WIRE TURNOUTS

Introduction
When was the last time you bought a turnout and it came with instructions
on how to wire it? Do you get the impression everyone knows
how to wire a turnout but you? This section of the website was
written for you.

This section assumes that you have read
everything above that is present on this web page.

This section also assumes you are
following the good practice of not power routing through the
points. Finally, it is assumed that you will also follow the
good practice of not using your power routing turnout to selectively
power your sidings.

This section will explain and give you a few examples on how
to wire a turnout. See the web page dedicated to your manufacturer’s
turnout for specific instructions. Each manufacturer specific
web page has a section in blue titled “How
to Wire This Turnout” that
will provide you with the details for wiring
that particular
turnout.
Select
your manufacturer from the menu bar at left. If you do not see
your manufacturer listed, the examples below should provide you
with sufficient guidance.

Generally, turnouts can be classified as one of several
types. They are shown below. Additionally, some have an insulated
frog that receives no electrical connection. For these, you can
look at type 1 to understand how generally to wire that such a
turnout. Remember,
look
at the specific instructions
listed with your manufacturer's turnout for details.

Type 1: The frog rails are not electrically
connected to the frog - DCC Friendly

This type of turnout is typical of Atlas, Kato, Roco,
the new Micro Engineering turnout, and the new Walther's turnout.

Typical of BK Enterpirse, old Micro Engineering,
old Walthers/Shinohara.

All the rails in red must be electrically connected
to all other red rails. The same goes for the blue and the green
rails.

In order to properly wire a turnout,
all of the following must be done:

Insulating the frog rails (types 2,3):

You will need
insulated joiners as shown. You do not need these insulated
joiners on type 1 turnouts.

Connecting the frog (all types):

The rails in green must be connected to your power
routing switch or switch machine. The bulb is optional. If your
bus is powered through a bulb you do not need a bulb attached to
your turnout as shown in the above schematics.

Your power routing switch or switch machine must
be connected to your bus shown in red and blue above. Make these
connections temporarily. It may be difficult to determine which
terminal on your power routing switch goes to which bus. Murphy's
Law says that you will get it wrong on the first try.* So
make the connection temporarily and then test it. If the locomotive
shorts
when it hits the frog, you have it wrong and will need to swap
the connections on your power routing switch.

*You can try
to outsmart Murphy's Law by hooking it up one way and then immediately
swapping the wires. However, Murphy's Law says that you will get it
wrong on the second try as well.

For all turnouts shown, you must solder a wire to
each stock rail and connect it to bus as shown in the color coded
drawings above.

Connecting the frog rails (all types):

On some type 1 turnouts,
you will need to make a connection to the bus as shown. Most manufacturers
of type 1 turnouts connect the frog rails to the stock rails, so
you probably don't need to do anything. See the instructions for
your particular turnout. Check your turnout with an ohm meter if
you are in doubt. If the locomotive
stalls
on the
frog rails, then you probably need to make the electrical connection
to the bus.

If you have converted a type 3 turnout to be DCC
friendly, you will need to connect the frog rails to the bus.

This instruction does not apply to type 2 turnouts.

Connecting the closure rails (types 1,2):

On some turnouts, you will need to make a connection
to the bus as shown. Most manufacturers of type 1,2 turnouts connect
the closure rails to the stock rails, so you probably don't need
to do anything. See the instructions for your particular turnout.
Check your turnout with an ohm meter if you are in doubt.

If your closure rails are not connected to your stock
rails, connect your stock rails to your bus. If you have converted
a type 3 turnout to be DCC friendly, you will need to connect your
closure rails to your bus.

Connecting the point rails (all types):

Unless your turnout has closure rails and point rails
that are all one piece with no moving parts (such as Tillig and
BK Enterprises), you will need to follow this instruction. This
is even if your manufacturer has provided an electrical connection
based on a hinge or wipers touching the stock rails. Over time,
these connections will become corroded and stop making good electrical
contact. You are smarter to make a soldered connection now while
the turnout is new because you will have a lot easier time soldering
it now then after it has corroded.

For types 1,2: Make a connection between your point
rails and the bus.

For type 3: Make a connection between your point rails
and your power routing switch or switch machine.

Insulated frogs are simple. You simply don't hook anything up to them. When looking at the drawings in this website, the frog is usually fed by a green wire. You simply don't need the green wire.

Most drawings in this website only show a wired frog. In these cases, you not only don't need the green wire, but you can also do away with the switch that performs the power routing. In the example below, if you were using an insulated frog, you would eliminate the green wire as well as the power routing switch.

Here's a situation where you don't need the green wire going to the frog, but you still need the power routing switch as well as everything else that is shown.

That should do it for you!

Getting the Frog Polarity Right

Typically, a frog is power routed through some sort
of electrical switch. The switch may be attached to a ground throw
or a switch machine. You will need to hook your bus wires to the switch.
Which way do you hook the wires? If you hook them up wrong, locomotives
will short when they cross the frog.

There are at least four ways to get the frog polarity
right:
1. Carefully think it through. Murphy's Law will make sure you
get it wrong.2. Use a meter.3. Use a locomotive.
4.
Use Allan's quick & easy short test described here.
Watch the video!

A meter works. Do you have your meter handy? A locomotive
should work, but if you don't have all-wheel power pick-up, you
may think you have it right when you don't.

DCC offers you a practical alternative that you never
really had before - intentionally testing the frog by shorting it
to the appropriate stock, closure, or point rail. You can do this
with a piece of wire or a test lead with alligator clips at each end.
This method is as fast as a meter but slightly more convenient. You
don't have to carry your meter around with its six feet of dangling
and tangling test leads. Three short clip leads is all you need. You
can buy a set of meter leads for about $6.88 from Mouser.
Their part number is 548-287.

Important! What I have shown is for a DCC friendly switch!
If you are not using a DCC friendly switch, when I say touch the point
rail below, touch the adjacent stock rail instead.

Before I explain how to wire a Tortoise, I want to give
you a heads up. I will be referring to the buses below by their color
I have shown - red and blue. Your bus wires don't have to be red or
blue. In fact, I use black and white for my buses on my model RR.
However, putting a white colored wire on a white page wouldn't show
up very well on my website. That's the only reason my diagrams don't
show white and black wires.

Also, the Tortoise has two internal switches that can
be used to power route a frog. You can use either one. To keep confusion
down, I will only refer to one of them.

Okay, here goes. It really is simple and will only take
about 10 minutes. Once you get one or two of them working, you will
be wondering why you were so worried this would be too hard for you
to do. It isn't!

Step 2: Connect the green wire to your
turnout's frog. See the top of this page for links to instructions
for wiring the turnout of your choice.

Step 3:Temporarily connect
the red wire from your Tortoise to your red track bus. Likewise, temporarily
connect the blue from your Torotise to your blue track bus. Use the
cables with clips that you bought.

Step 4: Now test your frog to see if
you got it right. You have a 50/50 chance of having gotten it right
- or wrong - depending on your level of optimism. Below are step by
step instructions for testing your frog along with diagrams. It will
only take you about 15 seconds to test your frog following my instructions
below. If this scares you, you can use a locomotive to test your frog.
It will take longer than 15 seconds, but it will work. Just be sure
your locomotive works going both ways across the turnout as you flip
the points.

Step 5: If you find that you have the
frog wrong or your locomotive stops when it goes across the frog,
no worries. Just swap the temporary connections you made. That is,
now connect the blue wire from the Tortoise to the red track bus and
connect the red wire from the Tortoise to the blue track bus.

Step 6: After confirming that you have
your Tortoise wired correctly to your frog, make your blue and red
wire connections permanent. I caution you to do one at a time. If
you don't, you may find that forget which way they were and consequently
wired them up wrong.

That's it!

Example demonstrating shorting technique. You
may use this technique with any turnout. In referring to my other
drawings
on this website, the frog area you are trying to power route is
anything I have shown in green.

While you final goal is a properly wired frog, you will actually be looking for three things.
1. Properly wired frog.
2. Frog polarity reversed (and wrong).
3. No power to the frog — meaning that you don't really have a connection to the frog.

Hook up the bus wires to your frog's power routing
switch temporarily as shown above with two of your test or clip leads. It is challenging to clip test leads onto a Tortoise connector — they are too close together. You may find soldering wires on the connector and then clipping to these wires will make things a little easier.

Step 1: Connect your test lead to the frog and touch it to the closed point rail or adjacent stock rail. If you don't get a small spark and/or hear your system shut down, you may be off to a good start.

If your system shorts, you have your connections to your bus backwards. Swap the leads connecting to your bus and try again.
If you don't get a short, continue on.

Step 2: Now touch the test lead to the open point rail or adjacent stock rail. This time you should get a short.

If you didn't get a short for either step 1 or step 2, that means you have a problem with your connection to your frog. Problems I have seen include:1. The wire you think is going to the frog isn't.2. The connector on the bottom of the Tortoise is not centered properly.3. The connections with the clip leads connecting to the bus wires are not making a good connection. Clipping onto the terminals of the Tortoise or via a connector to the Tortoise can be easier said than done.4. The clip leads connecting to the Tortoise are touching and have everything shorted out.
Step 3: Throw your turnout. Touch your test lead to the now open points or adjacent stock rail. You should get a short. If you do not and you have followed my directions so far, then you have a bad connection to your power routing switch or Tortoise.

Step 4: Touch your test lead to the closed point rail or the adjacent stock rail. You should not get a short. After following the above steps, getting to this step should just be a confirmation that you got it right. If your power routing switch is working correctly,
you can fully perform this test in seconds!

Once you get everything right, remove your clip leads from your power routing switch or Tortoise and make the connections permanent. Make sure you make good notes of which terminal the clip leads were attached to so that you can make your permanent connections correctly. You're done!

Being able to perform the test sequence above is second in importance only to the quarter test. Whenever there is a problem with a power routed frog, I attach a clip lead to a frog and run through these four steps. If all four steps go well, the turnout is okay. If they don't, I know I have a problem to fix.

Understanding and performing the above four steps is
also important to my readers because there are a multitude of ways
to hook up switch machines. These four steps are the only guaranteed
way that will work no matter what method of power routing you are
using. Also, it is faster than trying to trace out the wires and making
sure you got them right. Just hook up your power routing switch or
Tortoise to the bus and perform step 1 and maybe step 2. If you get
a short when you shouldn't, swap the clip leads to the bus from your
power routing switch or Tortoise and try step 1 and 2 again. This
takes just a few seconds.

To view video demonstrating the above, select the file
you would like to download from the list below. I have listed the
approximate download time for a high speed connection. After you decide
which file you would like to download, right click on it. Then select
"Save target as" and save the file on your hard drive. After
it has completed downloading, go to your hard drive and click on the
file. Hit the play button. Enjoy!

It is a darn complicated thing! At least on one
manufacturer, several of the little rail pieces are not powered.
Read below how to fix that. If you do not, it is no wonder engines frequently
stop on them. Typically, a double-slip is used where very tight
switching is required. This means small engines and going slow
— no chance to coast through. If you are using a 0-4-0T,
you are definitely going to have problems.

Most modelers and clubs will not allow the use of double-slip
turnouts; probably mostly because of the problems just mentioned. I
cannot attest to whether there are mechanical issues as well since
I have heeded the warnings of others and will not use them myself.

Assuming you need to use them, Bob Clegg, BobcatCS@comcast.net has
been nice enough to solve the problem of powering them and provide
a picture to guide you on doing the same to a Shinohara double-slip.
He
came up
with
a pretty
simple solution that will power most of the rails.

As you can see, his approach is pretty simple. He writes,
"Note that the frog rails of these turnouts are insulated from each
other so no insulated rail joiner is needed. If shorts on the frog rail
occur, they can be cut and epoxied just beyond the frog. This will limit
the dead area to about an inch and a half [37mm] and will not be a problem
for any but the shortest wheel based locomotives." {Murphy says: OR
the locomotive YOU are trying to run!} Seriously, Bob mentions that
you do make sure you have a locomotive that has good power pickup on
at least two axles on each side that are more than the 1.5 inches apart.

He mentions that his polarity is the same on all tracks.
That means do not try to run a reverse loop through the double-slip. Be
creative! You can still use this on a reverse loop if you need
to. For example, the balloon track itself can be the reverse loop keeping
the polarity on this turnout the same on all four tracks. There are
probably lots of ways to have this turnout on a reverse section. Just
make sure that your shortest reverse section is at least as long as
your longest train. Just in case you really want to run a reverse
section through the turnout, that may not be a great idea. I've
seen one way this can be done. It is very complex!

A few notes:
1. This is not DCC friendly. Some turnouts this is hard to do to. This
is one of them. I suggest you put a light bulb or an electronic circuit
breaker in series with this turnout if you need to use it.
2. It would also be difficult to run wiring to the points. This may
eventually be a point of failure. If you are very good at soldering,
you might be able to wire power to the points. Otherwise, avoid short
wheel bases.

Preventing Wrong-Way Entry Into a Turnout - and -
Using Asymmetrical DCC

Contributed by Paul Harman

Do you ever have the problem of a locomotive approaching
a turnout when the points are set the wrong way? The locomotive will
hit the frog and short out your system. Paul shows a way of stopping
a locomotive when the points are set the wrong way for an approaching
locomotive. Paul has created two additional electrical sections shown
in cyan (light blue) and brown (orange?) below. These zones need to
be long enough to stop your longest locomotive. If you are using several
locomotives in a multi-unit lash-up, this zone will need to be long
enough to stop all
of them.

Paul writes:

With conventional electrofrog wiring, the train will bridge the rail
attached to the frog, cause a short circuit and stop, usually causing
the
controller to go into its overload state and shut down.

In the same scenario with DCC, the train will cause a
short circuit, with
probably more current flowing with the potential to melt track components
(and pickups), as well as possibly shutting down the whole layout until
the
points are changed (not possible if it is DCC run from the track power
and
could be in a difficult location).

The answer is to use a double pole switch connected to
the tie bar instead
of the more usual single pole type, to create isolated sections immediately
before the frog, which are switched with the frog. Quite clearly this
has
little benefit on a conventional layout, but will have considerable
benefit
on a DCC layout.

While it is unlikely that all situations will be catered
for, because to be effective the isolating section will need to be long
enough to accommodate the locomotive and any part of the train in front
of it, it will be effective for most loco hauled trains. 12 car multiple
units will be tricky to accommodate for example, and there could be
implications with loss of carriage lighting on multiple units if long
isolating sections are used.

If your driving crew doesn't get preoccupied you might
not need this, but I
find trains often get left to drive themselves at shows when the driver
gets
chatting to the public!

I use slow motion switch machines that have an auxiliary
DPDT relay which
are ideal for this or wire in tube with a DPDT slide switch as the
actuator
for manual points.

How to Wire This Turnout Using a Tortoise

Here is how to wire a turnout for wrong-way entry short protection based on a Peco Electrofrog. Any turnout can be used. Just wire everything in the diagram below the turnout as shown and follow the instructions for the particular turnout. . If you follow my instructions carefully, your turnout with wrong-way entry short protection should be fine the first time.

Step 1: Cut the jumpers shown. DO NOT forget to do this. Do it now. If you install the turnout and you don't cut these jumpers you will hate yourself! Add the jumpers shown and add the optional jumpers on the point rails. Go to the section on wiring the Peco Electrofrog for more information about this turnout.

Step 2: Solder wires to the terminals on the Tortoise 6"-18" long. Whatever works for you. Use 20-22 AWG wire.

Step 3: Install your Tortoise switch machine
and get it working. Install your LEDs and get them working correctly
on your control panel. You may also need to rotate the switch so that
the handle points in the right direction.

Step 4: Temporarily connect wires W1 and W2 to the track bus. Follow the instructions on checking your frog polarity in the section on that topic using W3. Reverse W1 and W2 if you need to in order to get the frog polarity correct. When done, you can make the W1 and W2 connections permanent.

Step 5: Connect W3 and W4. If you are using a powered frog turnout, such as the Peco Electrofrog, also connect W5. Connect W5 to your frog. Omit W5 if you are using an unpowered frog.

Step 6: Temporarily connect W6 and W7 to the cyan (light blue) colored rails. Test your wiring by running a locomotive through the turnout and make sure it runs through. Put the locomotive on the other track and try to run the locomotive against the turnout. It should stop without a short. If it shorts, then swap W6 and W7. Check it out and make sure everything works properly. Then make the connections for W6 and W7 permanent.

Using Asymmetrical DCC

Contributed by Paul Harman

Since Paul's original submission above, he has provided
the diagram and text below if you are interested in using asymmetrical
DCC to stop a train. In case you are wondering, asymmetrical DCC is
a way of modifying a standard DCC signal that tells a train to stop
without making the lights go out and the sound to stop. You have to
use a decoder that supports asymmetrical DCC such as those made by
Lenz and Zimo.

There are several advantages to the Lenz/Zimo system
including being able to reverse away from the point without having
to change it as well as accessing all functions (such as blowing off
excess steam or sounding a horn, whistle or bell to wake up the signalman!).
BM1s are also cheap to make from five diodes if you do not want to
buy them. This diagram does contradict the Lenz rule of thumb for the
use of the BM1 ('Right is Right' implying that the BM1 should only
be in the right rail) but does make the wiring easier and minimizes
the number of insulated rail joints required. The BM1 can be put in
the left rail so long as the terminals are reversed.

It is important to note that the ABC system requires that the red
and black wires are connected to the correct side pickups in the loco
and the Cyan (light blue) and brown (orange) isolated sections are
at least as long as the constant braking distance set in the decoder,
plus the loco, and any part of the train in front of it (just like
'brake on DC'). For reliable stopping at a precise point regardless
of speed, the back EMF needs to be set up and working correctly so
that the decoder is able to count the motor revolutions accurately.

There seem to be very few articles
discussing use of the ABC braking system, but it is very handy if you
have Lenz
or Zimo loco decoders and for me is a good reason to buy them. Go to Lenz
BM-1 Block Management Module for more on creating asymmetrical
DCC.

I hope that this information is useful.

RECOMMENDATION #2-19: Where
to Buy Circuit Board Throw Bars.

Making circuit board throw bars is not fun. In
fact, it can be very dangerous!
You have a couple of choices.

Fast Tracks Hobbyworks, Inc. sells PC board ties already cut to size and gapped. Order on line at: http://www.handlaidtrack.com/Fast-Tracks-PC-Board-Ties-s/38.htm While you are at it, you may want to pick up a Frog Juicer for your turnout. U.S. modelers will note that Fast Tracks is a Canadian company. I have dealt with several Canadian companies, including Fast Tracks. Shipping cost and normal ground delivery has never been a problem for me.

Cloverhouse has a catalog of strips of PC boards you
can use for ties, as well as, all sorts of craftsman supplies and tools.
He has sheets and wires of phosphor bronze as well as sheets of brass
and nickel silver. Clover House, POB 62, Sebasstopol, CA 95473-0062.
www.cloverhouse.com Clover
House does not accept phone orders, but you can fax orders to him. Also,
you cannot order from the website.

What if you want to power route a turnout that is operated
by a manual ground throw? There are commercial products on the market,
but we felt they were too big, unprototypical looking, and perhaps
dirt would get into them and ultimately cause them to need replacing.

I have seen people do this a number of ways. All workable,
but I challenged my crew to come up with something that was truly simple
and serviceable. (Serviceability was my biggest concern with all the
previous ways I have seen this done.) It took a few weeks, but this
is what we came up with. It took a lot of thought, but it is truly simple!
Thanks to Brad Glass for co-developing this device and
Jack Wollschlaeger for drawing the bracket.

To adjust, just install the wood screw shown
at the left. After you get the mechanism working properly,
add the second wood screw.

How it works:

The ground throw controls the turnout. The ground throw
moves the throw bar. The throw bar moves the piano wire. The piano wire
operates the micro switch. This is something you can add to any layout.

You will see a rather long piece of metal with a pivot
for the piano wire. You might ask, "Why???" If you think of
the piano wire as it is moved by the throw bar, the piano wire moves
as much as the throw bar at the top. At the bottom, it doesn't move
at all. In the middle of the piano wire, it moves half as much. The
micro switch needs about 1/10th of an inch (2.5mm) of movement to activate
it - which is about the amount the throw bar moves. So percentage wise,
it is important that the microswitch be located near the top of the
piano wire. By using a long piano wire, we are in the upper 70% of the
piano wire and it works well. When we first tried this, we used a block
of wood that was only about 1 inch (25mm) long. It worked, but was touchy.
Now we use an arm that is 3.5"(89mm) long. You might be able to
experiment and find a piece of metal between 1 inch and 3.5 inches (89mm)
works. If you don't want to experiment, just make yours like ours.

It consists of:1. A 1A micro switch.
2. A piece of aluminum.
3. An L-shaped piece of piano wire.
4. Two screws to hold the bracket layout and two 2-56 screws to hold
the micro switch.

The piano wire:

The short leg of the L-shape is about 1/2" long (13mm).
The long end is as long as necessary to reach through your layout and
poke through a hole in your throw bar — one not used by the ground
throw, of course! Most throw bars have a hole in the middle. We use
that one. But you can use any spare hole in your throw bar or drill
a new one. After the piano wire is inserted into the small hole of the
metal bracket, the end is bent over to keep it from falling out of the
bracket.

Top View: Microswitch is shown mounted in a recess.
The original bracket was made of wood, but it proved to be easily broken
when one reaches under the layout.

There are three terminals on the micro switch. They
are usually labeled NC, NO, and COM. The COM goes to the frog. The
NC and NO go to the rails, or as I prefer, the buses that feed the
rails. Which one goes where? Temporarily hook them up. If a train shorts
on the frog, Murphy tricked you into temporarily hooking them up wrong.
Switch them. Try again. If no short, solder them. As a practical matter,
we pre-solder wires to the micro switches. The other ends of the wires
we hook up temporarily. You will find that if you follow a consistent
mounting orientation, they can all be hooked up the same.

Mounting:

To mount and adjust, there are two things you can do.
First, assemble everything and slide the piano wire through the throw
bar. Move the piece of metal around until you can throw the turnout
and hear the micro switch clicking as you do so. You can also hook up
an ohm meter to between COM and either NO or NC if you cannot hear the
switch clicking. When you have it working, screw it in place.

If after mounting it, you find it needs some more adjustment,
you can use a pair of pliers to bend the lever on the micro switch.

Note: I should mention, this was done on HO. For
smaller scales, like HOn3 and N, the piano wire movement is likely to
be less. I think this approach could still be made to work, but it may
be trickier. First, make sure the throw bar moves enough to operate
a microswitch. Then, if need be, make the piece of metal taller and
piano wire longer.

Automatic Frog Powering - Frog Juicer

Here's an interesting product that a reader brought to my
attention. It is an automatic frog polarity controller. It can be used
with just about any turnout that needs frog polarity control. The more
I thought about it, the more I realized its usefulness.

1. If you have trouble wiring frogs with the correct polarity.

2. If your turnout is in a difficult location and hard to mount a frog polarity switch under the turnout.

3. You are using a Peco or similar turnout that has a spring to lock the points to the stock rails. With a turnout like this, you need no ground throw or other mechanism, but you will still need something to power route the frog.

It is called a frog juicer. It comes in a single frog,
dual frog, and a hex (six) frog configuration. Think of it as half an
auto-reverse section controller. You're in luck, it is also about half
the price!

Frog juicers have no mechanical linkages, so they fit neatly
under your layout. They have no adjustments to make. If you use sprung
point turnouts like the Peco Electrofrog, you won't even need a ground
throw. If you take your time, it will take about 5 minutes to install
one.

It works with virtually all DCC systems. It does not work
with DCC systems that put out less than 1.7A because 1.7A is the frog
juicer's trip point. (Such systems are the Bachmann EZ-DCC and the Sprog
II.) It may be possible to add boosters to low-current systems like
these.

Check out frog juicers at: http://www.TamValleyDepot.com
You will find frog juicer manuals and wiring diagrams for the frog juicer
to turnouts, crossings (diamonds), and double crossovers. Just think
of what it would take to wire a double crossover. You will be impressed
at how simple frog juicers make the task!

Single turnout Frog Juicer

If you are planning on signalling and block detection,
be sure to read about using frog juicers with block detection in the
section on Block Detection.

Which frog juicer should you buy? There isn't much of
a price savings for a hex juicer over a mono juicer, so buy the juicer
that is right for your application. For single turnouts, buy a mono
juicer and put it under the turnout. If you have a crossover or crossing
(diamond), use a dual juicer. For a double crossover, use a hex juicer.
If you have a yard with multiple turnouts on the same DCC block, you
may want to use a hex juicer here as well.

Tam Valley Depot's Kermit The #6 Frog

Remember: A live frog is a happy frog! No frogs were harmed
in the making of this product! Juice is electrical slang in the U.S.
for electricity. A power routed frog is often referred to as a live
frog. Depending on what is in the glass, some frogs are happier than
others!

Please note that I am not a dual gauge modeler. What
is written here is based on examining a friend's layout that is and
is wired for DCC. If you have anything that you think I should add,
please write me.

Dual gauge turnouts look complicated,
and mechanically they are, but wiring them is not a big deal.
Due to its mechanical complexity, it is not possible to make a
dual gauge turnout DCC friendly unless you scratch build it. Most
of you will use a turnout, such as the Shinohara turnout shown
here.

It is recommended that you attach a feeder to the movable points.
There are three movable points. There are two shown in green.
One feeder may be used for these two points and must be attached
to your power routing switch in your switch machine. There is
one point shown in red that should have a feeder attached to the
bus serving the outside rail.

I don't know what this thing is really called. It is a track work
arrangement that separates a dual gauge track into a standard
gauge track and a narrow gauge track. It has no moving points.
The guard rail guides the flange of a standard gauge train to
the left while narrow gauge trains proceed straight ahead. Clever!

Because there are no moving parts, this presents somewhat of
a dilemma for the modeler. How do you power route the frog? It
would be nice if this can be done automatically. Fortunately,
this can be done using a 4-wire auto reverse unit

A 4-wire auto reverse unit typically has two wires going to a
bus and two wires to a single reversing zone. This type of reversing
unit is distinguished from auto reverse units that require triggering
zones such as the Loy's Toys ARSC. Loy's ARSC cannot be used with
this type of turnout. Some auto reverse units have more than one
auto reverse unit on one circuit board. Such is the Digitrax PM-42.
On a per circuit basis, each circuit equates to a 4-wire auto
reverse unit. The main, distinguishing feature of a 4-wire auto
reverse unit is that it does not require separate triggering zones.

You will notice that one of the outputs of the 4-wire
reverser is not connected. It is therefore important that the 4-wire
reverser that you are using must be able to trigger itself when
it senses a short on a single rail only. The easiest thing to
do is to hook it up as shown above and try it. You won't damage anything
if it doesn't work. If you can alternate between a narrow gauge and
standard gauge locomotive with no problem, then you are good to go.
If it does not work, try using the other output. If neither output
works,
then you will need to use another brand of auto reverser.

Here is a partial list of those auto reversers that are
believed to work:

Many others are expected to work. We just haven't tried
them. If you know that another type will work, please write
me.

If you have not bought an auto reverser yet and want to
try it in the store before you buy it, Mark Guirries suggests the following
test:

The goal of this test is to determine the products suitability
for
single rail short detection and proper correction. If the booster never
shutdowns because of short detected during the test, then the
Autoreverser (called AR) ad passes that test. If the device passes
all
4 tests, it will be acceptable.

With an AR device inputs connected to a booster.

1) Verify the booster is working by momentarily shorting
the booster output and noting its response to a short. This response
is what will
be used to determine pass or fail for the next test.

2) Pick only one of the AR output wires and touch it to
one of the AR input wires and note the booster's response.

3) Using the same output wire, touch it to the OTHER
AR input wire and
again note the booster's response.

4) Repeat test 2 and 3 again but using the OTHER AR OUTPUT
wire and again note the response.

It should be noted that if an AR device works successfully
with only ONE of the two output wires but fails the other wire test,
it still can be used provided you use the output wire that works!

Observation: The performance of electronic AR solutions, no relays
involved, will potentially be much better in terms of response time.
From an operations point of view, you can often see the difference
in
the headlight. You often get a "blink" with a relay solution
and none
with electronic. At worse with a relay solution the engine jerks it
way
through depending on the existence or size of a flywheel. This is due
to
the relay's mechanical mass which creates a small delay in the response
time to the correct polarity.

With the right tools, they are easy. Without them, it
is more than difficult. It's impossible! Before deciding to
make any, seriously consider buying them! See
the section above, 2-19.

Some of the operations
can be done with a table saw, radial arm saw, joiner, or router. If
you invested in these tools, then I will assume that you invested
the time to learn how to operate them safely. You must read
the owner's manual that came with it; particularly the sections on
safety. You must also know what hazards exist when using the
tool and under what conditions the tool will kick or pull. Your
fingers may be very close to the work where any mishap will almost
certainly result in a loss of fingers or worse. If you choose
to use an unguarded table saw, you must know the hazards of doing
so. If you do not consider yourself an expert on the tool you
own, have a friend who is give you some pointers. Maybe they
will even do the work for you! While I own a few of these tools,
I use them only to build the bench work for my railroad and do not
consider myself an expert on using them by any means.

Radial arm saws can pull things, like fingers and
arms, under the blade. Also, the blade can bite into the work
and drive the saw towards you. I use my radial arm saw plugged
into a power strip with a 15A breaker. If the saw bites too
hard and wants to travel towards me, it usually binds enough to trip
the breaker before the saw unpleasantly surprises me. To avoid
the saw moving towards you on its own, pull the saw towards you slowly. Keep the muscles in your arm "tensed up." NEVER,
EVER, have any part of your body anywhere near the path of a
radial arm saw.

Always wear safety goggles when using saws, routers,
joiners - any power tool!

Small work pieces on a table saw are often kicked
towards the operator. Be prepared for this. Wear a denim
shop apron or other thick clothing. (I hang a tarp between
my "wood shop" and cars. It keeps them from getting covered
with saw dust and avoids flying pieces from nicking the
paint.) Do not have your face in line with the blade and keep
the saw's guard on.

When setting up your work behind the blade of a radial
arm saw or anywhere near the blade of a table saw, remove the key
from your saw (if it has one) or unplug it.

If you should use a shear (a guillotine for metal)
at a friend's sheet metal shop, know that this tool is designed to
chop things off effortlessly — things that are many more times more
difficult to chop than fingers or arms. Therefore, always double
check that you are clear of the blade before operating it. Otherwise,
it will cut off a body part in an instant.

W. Kleinert reports "I have found that a 21tpi sabresaw
blade chucked up in my old delta scrollsaw cut pc board just fine with
minimal hazards. Simply use good powertool safety methods and one
should have good results."

Now that we have safety covered, you need to
do two things to make your own circuit boards throw bars: cut
a groove down the middle of the throw bar and cut the throw bars themselves.

There are basically only two kinds of things you can
use to cut circuit boards: abrasive discs and carbide tipped blades.
Non-carbide tipped blades chip away at the board leaving jagged edges.
Also, after I had once hacked away at 45 inches (1.1m) worth of circuit
board, I found that I had no teeth left on the blade when it stopped!
So this eliminates the possibility of using a jig saw or the ever popular
chain saw. Carbide, on the other hand, cuts smoothly. I have not
cut enough boards yet to notice any degradation of the teeth.

If you do not yet own a carbide blade, here is the
excuse you were looking for to buy one. The laser cut ones with the
anti-resonant
S-shaped slots in them make a smooth cut on wood.

Cutting the groove:

The easiest way to do this is use you motor tool with
an abrasive disc. You can also use a carbide tipped saw blade. If
using a table saw, attach the circuit board securely to the bottom
side of a piece of wood with double faced carpet tape. This way
you can have something that allows you to keep your hands away from
the blade.

A router with a carbide tipped blade should do the job
nicely.

Cutting out the throw bars:

I made my circuit board throw bar just under 4/64" (1.5mm)
wide. I used a Dremel stone tip to take the rough edges off the circuit
board.

The best way to cut them out is with a shear. These
range from small hand powered devices specifically intended for cutting
circuit boards up to hydraulically powered monsters for cutting metal
plates. It is wise to think of a shear
as a guillotine and keep your hands away from the blade. Even
the foot operated ones will chop off body parts you were not keeping
a close eye on. Unfortunately, using one much bigger than a table
top model is too big. Something needs to clamp the circuit
board so you can keep your fingers away. The bigger shears have
ways to clamp things, but they are intended for things bigger than
a circuit board.

Forget using a table saw. It cut the circuit board
into 1.6" (40mm) wide strips fine, but I could not cut them into
little throw bars without it kicking. After the second time,
I quit before I lost any fingers. Be aware that when the final
cut is made on small parts, the saw will kick the strip
towards you. Be
wearing the appropriate protection mentioned above.

If anything, the small hobbyist table saws are probably
safer to use. You will need a "zero clearance throat plate" to
keep your circuit board pieces from disappearing into the saw.

Once you have your throw bar, you can cut it to the
desired length easily with medium or large diagonal wire cutters.

Using Radio Shack blank circuit boards:

If you are using Radio Shack bare circuit board, it is
photosensitive. It can be used with lithographic negatives to
lay out fancy circuits when exposed to sunlight and then etched in acid.
The only thing you need to worry about is that the board is coated with
something you cannot solder to. Lightly sand it with 150 grit
or higher sandpaper to remove the photosensitive layer until it shines.

INFORMATION #2-21:
Other Turnouts Not Otherwise Covered

Three-Way: I have studied this turnout and was
preparing a diagram for it. But in the process of deciding what had
to be done to make it a DCC friendly turnout, I decided the difficulty
level of surgery required by the average modeler was too great. I do
not want this website to be for expert solder technicians only. This
website is for average modelers. Therefore, I deem this type of turnout
not practical for conversion to DCC friendliness.

A lot of modelers find this type of turnout a source
of derailments and therefore, their use should be avoided. Many clubs
and modelers forbid their use like the double-slip.

However, if you find that you must use them, use some
sort of short circuit protection or a bulb.

N & Z: If you are capable of doing the fine
soldering, go for it. These may be too difficult for the average
modeler. Use some sort of short circuit protection or a bulb.

O: Two-wire O should be just like HO. I just
do not have the turnouts to draw or make specific references to.
Three-wire is difficult for me to say anything about them in general
without seeing the turnouts.

G: Outside, you have the weather, dirt, and bugs
to cause you problems. Therefore, I used a #6 turnout with an insulated
frog so that I don't have to power route anything. Yes, I occasionally
have trouble with my high-railer stalling, but otherwise this approach
works well.

Dual Gauge — Narrow and Standard: I do not have
any to study in detail. I suspect, like the three-way, one of each
will need to be sacrificed to determine its exact electrical construction.
Turnouts using the points to provide continuity or have a solid metal
connection across the points make it difficult to ohm out the turnout
without taking it apart — perhaps beyond the point of returning it
to use. Certainly, any turnout I have to dismantle eliminates those
that I can look at on the store shelf.

Crossovers: I have partially thought through
these. There turns out to be about four variations on this. Two of
them are for G-scale. They depend on the angle, a track plan that would
be used for G, but probably not for a serious indoor railroad, and
the fact that G can use insulated frogs. The crossovers I was thinking
about would be scratch built. There are some commercial G crossovers,
but so far, no one has asked about them. So I have not bothered to
worry any further about these.

In HO, you have two situations. Those with the solid
metal cast frogs and those without. I have one without the cast frogs
and we are seeing what we think of it.

A crossing made with the solid metal frogs I really
need to see. I have been asked about these. Without seeing one,
I am not able to recommend anything. I am not sure that my mental
picture of how one of these is put together is accurate or not.

The solid metal frog I understand looks good. There is
definitely interest in it and I have heard some recommendations on how
to handle them. Some of the advice on the web is a bit involved —
more for the electrically inclined than the average model railroader.
I think this is too complicated and think I can come up with something
simpler, if not cheaper, for the average modeler to implement. But I'll
need to see one of these things first.

Confused by terms used to refer to turnouts and frogs? Below are some helpful defnitions. I have included every name I have ever heard regarding frogs, but understand that there are really only two general types of frogs - live or electrified and dead or insulated.

Electrofrog: Trademark term belonging to Peco. Modelers frequently use this term to also refer to live or electrified frogs. See electrified frog.

Insulfrog: Trademark term belonging to Peco. Modelers frequently use this term to also refer to dead, insulated, or unconnected isolated frogs. See insulated frog.

Dead frog: 1. See insulated frog. 2. A green frog that has been run over by a car. See green frog. Do not see live frog.

Electrified frog: This is a metal frog that is wired in such a way that it can supply power to the wheels of the train rolling over it. Usually power is supplied to the frog by a general technique known as power routing. See power routed frog.

Insulated frog: Usually plastic, but may also be pieces of rail that are not electrically connected to anything. Does not provide any electrical power to train.

Isolated frog: This is a metal frog that is not electrically attached to anything. The metal frog on Atlas turnouts is a good example. Isolated frogs can be wired up to be power-routed making it an electrified or live frog.

Power routed frog: Any electrified, live, or Electrofrog that is wired to some sort of switch or switching mechanism that provides power to train wheels through the frog. The switching mechanism makes sure that the power delivered to the frog is of the right polarity. Failure to use a switching mechanism or hooking it up backwards will cause a short.

Newbie Notes:What type of frog is best for me?

Electrified frogs are always a good choice when they are wired to be power routed. They work with all types of locomotives. Insulated frogs can be used if you have long wheel base locomotives with all-wheel pickup.

An electrified frog requires a switching mechanism and three additional wires to be hooked up whereas an insulated frog requires none of this. Most switch machines, like Tortoise, have the switching mechanism built in so all you need is the three wires (shown on my turnout diagrams throughout this website) so all you need to add are the three wires. Pretty simple actually.

If you try to use insulated frogs with short wheel base locomotives that don't have all-wheel pickup, the locomotive will stall on the turnout. For this reason, electrified frogs are always a good choice.

Newbie
Notes: Types of switch machines.

Slow-motion: This type moves the points slowly and is powered by DC. The DC polarity is reversed to change the position of the points. Some slow motion switch machines requre that the DC be constantly applied to hold the points in position.

The Tortoise is probably the most popular slow-motion switch machine. It has two switches integrated into it to use for power routing and providing position feedback to a display panel or to your DCC system. Position feedback is frequently provided by using a bi-color LED.

Twin-coil: This type of switch machine uses two magnetic coils that run on either AC or DC and move the point in an instant. The Atlas snap switch, the Peco under table switch machine the NJ International, and the Rix-Rax are examples of this type of switch machine.

Which type is right for me? The choice is up to you. The slow-motion switch machine is very popular today since it's movement is more prototypical.